Episode 9: Ep 9 - Conversation with Justin DeKoszmovszky (Founder, Archipel&Co)

More With Less Podcast with Venkata and Jaideep

In this episode, we talk to Justin DeKoszmovszky, Founder and Managing Partner of Archipel&Co’s UK office. Justin has been working at the interface of strategy, innovation, and sustainability for over 20 years. We start by talking about Justin’s sustainability journey and what sustainability means to him. We then explore Justin’s role at CISL (Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership), League of Intrapreneurs, and Archipel&Co. Justin then explains the sustainability trends in businesses and how the role of purpose in large listed companies is taking prominence. We then ask Justin about the challenges faced by large, listed companies trying to balance sustainability and impact with financial returns and the issue of Sustainability vs CSR in these big companies. Justin talks about the blurring of boundaries between profit and social purpose and how the frameworks and evaluation and measurement of impact take place in these big organizations. The conversation then goes towards balancing inequality, environment, and technology and Justin’s thoughts on what the future holds for sustainable businesses. Guest BioJustin DeKoszmovszky has been working at the interface of strategy, innovation, and sustainability for over 20 years, fuelled by the challenge of answering the next generation’s inevitable question: “what did you do to make it better?” As the Founder and Managing Partner of Archipel&Co’s UK office, Justin is committed to the transition to an inclusive economy. Justin previously led corporate sustainability strategy at SC Johnson, PUMA and OVO Energy. He is a co-founder and non-executive director of INBONIS, a financial technology firm and Europe’s first SME-focused credit rating agency. Justin is also a Senior Associate of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Justin holds a BSc and an MBA from Cornell University. Key moments timestamps[00:25]- Justin’s sustainability journey[03:19]- On what sustainability means to him[04:47]- Justin’s role at Cambridge’s CISL, League of Intrapreneurs, and Archipel&Co[07:15]- Sustainability trends in businesses[09:37]- Role of purpose in large listed companies[12:50]- Challenges faced by large, listed companies[15:02]- Sustainability vs CSR[17:45]- Blurring of boundaries between profit and social purpose[21:14]- Evaluation and measurement of impact and related metrics[24:23]- Example of evaluation and measurement[26:42]- On balancing inequality, environment, and technology [30:19]- Justin on what the future holds Check out the full episode transcription at: https://https://morewithlesspodcast.com/ Quotes“We're actually rarely now working with a pure sustainability team or a CSR team, whereas that used to be quite common. And now we're more often than not working with a brand team or a product team, or even commercial teams who are in charge of selling impactful products, impactful services.” - Justin DeKoszmovszky “The key is to start with what is already being measured to measure what is going to really make a difference from a decisional perspective, not necessarily what's going to be nice. And we're less focused on measures that are purely for the public reports. We're really more focused on measures and evaluation frameworks that are going to help make better decisions.” - Justin DeKoszmovszky About UsVenkata Gandikota is a frugal innovation and impact investing evangelist and Prof Jaideep Prabhu is a Professor of Marketing at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School and co-author of an award-winning book on frugal innovation. If you have questions or feedback on this episode or our series, reach out to us. Twitter: https://twitter.com/morewithlesspodLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/more-with-less-podcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/morewithlesspodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_hymDe_ez7RbRko0PLsFkwWebsite: https://morewithlesspodcast.com